FY2024 EPS Estimates for WEC Energy Group Boosted by KeyCorp

WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) – Equities researchers at KeyCorp increased their FY2024 EPS estimates for WEC Energy Group in a research report issued on Tuesday, December 3rd. KeyCorp analyst S. Karp now forecasts that the utilities provider will earn $4.92 per share for the year, up from their previous forecast of $4.87. KeyCorp has a “Overweight” rating and a $109.00 price target on the stock. The consensus estimate for WEC Energy Group’s current full-year earnings is $4.87 per share. KeyCorp also issued estimates for WEC Energy Group’s Q4 2024 earnings at $1.47 EPS, FY2026 earnings at $5.58 EPS, FY2027 earnings at $6.00 EPS and FY2028 earnings at $6.40 EPS.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.82 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $1.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.93 billion. WEC Energy Group had a net margin of 15.14% and a return on equity of 11.72%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.00 earnings per share.

Several other analysts have also recently commented on WEC. StockNews.com upgraded shares of WEC Energy Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of WEC Energy Group from $86.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of WEC Energy Group from $97.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on WEC Energy Group from $103.00 to $106.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on WEC Energy Group in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $102.00 target price on the stock. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, WEC Energy Group has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $95.55.

WEC Energy Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WEC opened at $97.09 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $97.63 and its two-hundred day moving average is $89.80. The company has a market cap of $30.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.46. WEC Energy Group has a 12-month low of $75.13 and a 12-month high of $102.79. The company has a quick ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37.

WEC Energy Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a $0.8925 dividend. This is a positive change from WEC Energy Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.84. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $3.57 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.68%. WEC Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 81.66%.

Insider Transactions at WEC Energy Group

In related news, CEO Scott J. Lauber sold 6,720 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.89, for a total transaction of $677,980.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 45,709 shares in the company, valued at $4,611,581.01. This represents a 12.82 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Gale E. Klappa sold 1,805 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.40, for a total transaction of $179,417.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 273,248 shares in the company, valued at $27,160,851.20. This represents a 0.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 48,794 shares of company stock worth $4,866,579. 0.34% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of WEC Energy Group

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 58.1% in the 2nd quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 321 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 118 shares during the period. Coastline Trust Co bought a new stake in WEC Energy Group in the third quarter valued at about $29,000. William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. bought a new stake in WEC Energy Group in the second quarter valued at about $31,000. Triad Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in WEC Energy Group in the second quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new position in WEC Energy Group during the second quarter worth about $38,000. 77.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About WEC Energy Group

WEC Energy Group, Inc, through its subsidiaries, provides regulated natural gas and electricity, and renewable and nonregulated renewable energy services in the United States. It operates through Wisconsin, Illinois, Other States, Electric Transmission, and Non-Utility Energy Infrastructure segments.